Once called the "Nanny Dog" and valued as the ultimate family companion, the "pit bull" breed type has been under fire in recent years and has become the dog of choice for media outlets to sensationalize. But, do they really deserve their bad reputation?

Top Opinion

It's not the dog but the owner, i have a rotty,which is considered by some as a nasty breed but our dog is loved by everyone who knows her and pit bulls can be the same..on saying that every dog can be dangerous and you should always be aware of this ans also around children because they can accidently hurt the dog and it might retaliate....

They are NOT A MENACE but I unfortunately had to go with yes. I'm saying it is not always the owner's fault. Sometimes, animals act on their on discretion. Young pitbulls, like humans, are born with their own personalities. Some pitbulls are calm, some are hyperactive, some are passive, and some are overbearing. The level of threat they pose is based on the individual's temper.

However, like baby humans, they often imitate the attitude of their parents. And they are also prone to similar disorders humans are afflicted with when raised in a broken home. I'm not saying pitbulls are bad. I'm just saying their are bad pitbulls out there and they are bad for some the same reasons as humans.

Last, dogs are prone to mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, psychosis, and depression, which may be the root cause of some random attacks. Also, dogs speak a different language. They may easily misinterpret friendly gestures as threats, especially if the dogs have limited interactions with humans....Just two more cents.

What your saying about humans making the dog this way is very true however, the dogs breed doesnt have anything to do with this, ANY dog breed can and is affected by the way it was raised. The breed hardly has anything to do with it and its that kind of thinking that land thousends of these dogs in pounds.

All dogs are capable. The breed can affect the dog's judgements, however. Because the breed effects physical characteristics, it may influence a dog's actions. Don't overlook a bully, even if its an animal. Animals are not as clueless as people choose to believe. They can be either as naughty as little boys or outright dangerous. Strong dogs like German Shepards, Rotweillers, and Great Danes are notoriously aggressive and have a habit of dominating smaller dogs and picking children. Their aggression is why they make such good security guards. Dogs understand how strong they are and their limitations. Why do you think most attacks happen to children and small women? Because malicious dogs understand that children and small women are not strong enough to fight back.

Dogs have the capacity for violence. Dogs have committed acts that people go to jail for everyday. They have raped (other dogs and humans), committed murder, and terrorized neighborhoods. They have the capability to commit these acts out of enjoyment. Don't act like a dog's actions are autonomous. They think, feel, and react with a similar level of intelligence as us.

Firstly, i have a Great Dane and They are NOT known for being dangerous, they even got the nick name "gentile giant" Great Danes are also notorious for loving and protecting children. I don’t know where your getting your information but anywhere you read about Great Dane temperament it will say that they are good with children. That being said, this doesn’t mean that ALL Great Danes are good with children; again it is how they are raised. If a pitbull is socialized and trained from a young age (just like any breed) it will a very sweet dog.

Just because a dog is strong does not make it aggressive, if a dog stays in its yard its whole life and doesn’t get any exposure to the outside world then yes of course it will be aggressive no matter what the breed. But if a dog gets introduced to new people and things it will understand that there’s nothing to fear. The breed may affect the dogs temperament a little bit but that can easily be over powered by persistent training.

Yes dogs can be very viceous but they can also be very sweet and loving and that is why so many people own them, because of theyr amzing cabability to love its human more then it loves itself. At the end of the day it boils down to how they are raised.

I didn't say specifically strong dogs are aggressive. I just said strong dogs can become more aggressive if the owners cannot keep them under control. Training is the usual way to mitigate having a wild dog but you can't train a dog's personality. People who assume that a wild dog is a direct result of owner neglignece is ignoring an animal's free will. Dogs aren't stupid. They feel love, they get angry, they get sad, they know how to lie, and they rationalize whether or not to they should follow our commands. So why is it so difficult for people to understand a dog can feel hate, envy, or even feel the need to pick on somebody? Because, they do and for the same reasons as us. Animals think a lot like us. After all, we are animals too.

You think I'm saying dogs are bad but I'm not. I'm saying dogs that commit a crime should be held accountable given some circumstances. They understand right and wrong but whether they choose to adhere to that is either due to bad training or lack of will. If it's bad training the owner should be convicted. But no matter what, dogs understand threat levels. They understand the difference between a man trying to harm them and a little boy playing in front of his house. There is never an excuse for a dog attacking a child, no matter how a dog was raised.

Yes dogs have their own minds and they are animals that can be very dangerous but dogs that have been trained and socialized learn to love. Yes sometimes their instinct kicks in and their training goes out the window but if they are trained, they can easily be put back under control. Its just like you said, dogs experience the same feelings as we do, if a dog loves its owner enough it will listen because it FEELS love, just like we do.

If a dog is aggressive beyond training then maybe it is best that it be put down, but its the humans who made it that way so they also should be held accountable. Sometimes it doesn’t even take a human to make a dog mean, it just take a dog that isn’t used to humans or training. Yes dogs DO understand right and wrong but if they are not trained to know what’s right and what’s wrong how can they be blamed? its the same thing with children. I have never heard of a dog attacking a human for no reason, a dog would have to feel threatened to attack a human just like any other animal. A dog doesn’t just see a little child and decide to attack it for no reason. It would take an extremely undomesticated wild animal to do something like that.

Okay, here's a question? When children have tantrums in a supermarket, what do we always think? Bad parents, right? However, when an adult throws a tantrum, what do we think? He's crazy. Even though, children can have mental problems, general concesus says blame mom and dad. What I'm saying is dogs have similar mental disorders as human, which can affect their moods and actions. It's not always the owner's fault. Dogs may be trained to do right but they don't always do the right thing...And attacking a child is NEVER okay, unless the child is obviously trying to kill the dog. The owners should be held accountable under some circumstances. However, domesticated dogs know right from wrong and have free will. They understand pain.

I never said it was okay for a dog to attack a child, any dog that does that should be heuthanized. It boils sown to this: A dog that is traind and socialized is not capable of attacking someone unless that somone is a huge threat to it or its loved ones.

Not capable? Seriously? If a dog is "capable" of learning multiple languages, it's capable of attacking at will. If a dog is capable of love it's capable of other emotions such as hate, evny, lust, etc. If a dog is capable of defiance it has free will. If a dog is capable of feeling physical pain it understands how to inflict it. If a dog is capable of rape it's capable of murder. Dogs understand how to adapt to society, yet some dogs refuse not to. Those dogs are dangerous...

Why don't you put halos on their heads? Great dogs are great. I'm not talking about the ones that always obey it's owner. I'm talking about the ones that do the right things when the owner isn't around. Believe it or not most dogs do. Some owners are bad, but not all of them.

So your saying that when the owner isnt around the dog just forgets everything its ever learnd and is willinf to just attack someone? Meet a theorapy dog thats been traind from birth then say that. I dont know if you have ever had a dog but your logic is just everywhere and its not making sence to me. We just dont see eye to eye on this one.

I had two dogs in my life. Most dogs are good. You repeated what I was trying to say. I'm saying some dogs are to blame, not just their owners. Also, the people they attack may hold some responsibility. Not all dogs have aggressive personalities but some do. Aggression doesn't mean they'll be violent. Aggressive personalities can be threatening, however. People automatically assume dogs are sweet and gentle and loyal but that simply isn't true. Discipline is required. But just like children, dogs will resist and some dogs handle themselves differently. Some people don't know how to handle an aggressive dog. That may cause the dog to spin out of control. Then, the other variables I mentioned earlier may come into play and attacks are bound to happen.

All dogs can be dangerous, but not all dogs are the as strong as pit bulls. My neighbor's dog who she always said would never hurt a fly one day liked to have torn off my son's arm. Thank goodness her husband was there and was able to rescue him. The owner, a woman in her 60s who is pretty much the neighborhood grandma, was crying more than my son when she brought him home with his arm dripping with blood. The very next day she had the dog put down.

Its the idiot dog owners who fail to train their dogs and want a mean dog that are dangerous.

My @hole neighbor abandoned his 6 month old pit bull when he moved, just tied him up and left. I took it in and finally found it a good home after two months. It was a very sweet pup only because it was a pit bull people shied away from her, I've taken in stray dogs before and never had such a hard time finding them homes as was the case with this friendly pup.

The issue with a pitbull isn't the temperament. I've met many who are fine. The problem is their mouth - the thing is a steel bear trap. It's not that the breed is dangerous, but that it can do a lot of damage if it gets mad. Most of it is media hype. Raise a dog right and it's a good friend, regardless of breed.

I have never met a dog that was dangerous by nature. Dogs are made that way by their owners. Maybe a few more bad owners producing the 'dangerous dogs' should be put down and this wouldn't be such an issue.

All animals have the potential to be dangerous. I have raised all kind of dogs, have been around many others and if treated right they are all very loving. There is always a chance that there may be something wrong with a dog mentally if it is inbred, they may go off for no reason.

I would have answered "No, all dogs can be dangerous given the chance.", but it's worded badly. It should say "No. All dogs can be good and loving animals given the chance." Pit Bulls have the capacity to be dangerous, because of the way they're built, but it isn't their nature. They have to be trained to be mean. Bad dog=bad master.

When I was little, I was bit by a Cocker Spaniel, my daughter was nipped by a Silky Terrier when she reached for the dogs toy, my mom was bit on the butt by a Doberman because she stopped petting it and turned her back on it (apparently the dog wasn't done with the ear scratching!). Meanwhile, my ex had a Rottweiler who could kill you with his tail because he was so happy to see you and my cousin had a Pit who would droll on you for belly rubs. Dogs are like people, you never know who's gonna bite.

It's not the dog but the owner, i have a rotty,which is considered by some as a nasty breed but our dog is loved by everyone who knows her and pit bulls can be the same..on saying that every dog can be dangerous and you should always be aware of this ans also around children because they can accidently hurt the dog and it might retaliate....